Bill Hemmer Interview…

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Patricia Sheridan interviews FNC’s Bill Hemmer…

Being a news anchor on one of the three main networks used to be the pinnacle of success in the broadcast world.

I think it has [changed] in the sense that media has changed and the way people get their information. Cable news has become an enormous player in that game. I know a lot of people in the cable news business who wield quite the heavy stick when it comes to influence. The media landscape has shifted. It’s made cable a very important player. You used to find that primarily the people who watched cable news were in either Washington, D.C., or New York City, and with the growth of the Fox News Channel that has clearly changed.

So when you first started out, was your goal to be Tom Brokaw?

[Laughing.] My goal? Way long ago I would have been happy to be a disc jockey at a rock ‘n’ roll station. But times change and people evolve. My ambition has always been the news angle. Personally, look, I think opinion news in the cable world is enormously influential, and it’s been hugely successful for a lot of people. Based on their viewership, the evidence is clear. But that’s not my game. I’d rather moderate the debate than lead it. [Laughing.] I don’t think I’m very good at opinion news. I think I’d much rather be shipped off to Iran to report or Saudi Arabia or the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan or to Haiti to cover the earthquake.

Out-Foxing Fox?

Page Six makes an observation about Bloomberg TV’s recent hires…

We hear . . .

That Bloomberg TV is trying to outfox Fox News Channel, which is known for its lineup of pinup-worthy anchors, by hiring such foxy news babes as Gigi Stone, Melissa Long and Margaret Brennan.

Tweeting John King, USA…

The Washington Post’s Monica Heese writes about John King, USA’s internet “test drive” last week…

Because civilized discussion must now include the Twitterverse, the dress rehearsal — milling and all — is being broadcast live on CNN.com, where users are invited to direct their own action by sharing their show-improving suggestions on social networks before the debut Monday at 7 p.m.

Facebook as focus group, Twitter as test audience.

King, best known for hosting “State of the Union,” is taping the show in the studio down the hall from the control room — a brand-new set designed to evoke modernity and familiarity all at once.

“I’m surrounded here by my things,” King, wearing a blazer and jeans, says to the online audience as he gestures to some on-set shelves. There are his own books. His own Red Sox paraphernalia. His own Vermont maple syrup jug.

What’s Hot/What’s Not: 03/21/10

What’s Hot:

Health Care Reform – It dominated the news cycle all week.

Bret Baier’s Obama Interview – The interview was widely discussed because of the way it was conducted.

Christiane Amanpour jumps from CNN to ABC – And it’s going to take CNN some time to properly fill the void her departure will create.

CNN’s new Atlanta HD set – CNN prematurely pulled the curtains back on its new HD set in Atlanta, even though it won’t go live for some time still. The set is advances as I expected it would be.

What’s Not:

Nothing made the cut this week.

FNC’s Upscale Upfront…

In a must read, Ad Age’s Andrew Hampp writes about FNC’s push for luring in high end advertisers…

Part of Fox’s upfront pitch will include a slide that shows its share of 25- to 54-year-old viewers with household incomes of $100,000 or more. Among its broader competitive cable set, Fox has 26% share of cable’s gross rating points among that audience, more than History (12%), Discovery (11%) and CNN (9%).

CNN, of course, was its biggest competitor in a cable-news horse race that used to be fairly neck-and-neck among viewers 25-to-54 until Fox finally pulled ahead for good in 2009. CNN now often ranks fourth or fifth in a five-network prime-time cable news race that also includes sibling network Headline News, CNBC and MSNBC.

The growth in Fox’s ratings seems to have diversified the network’s client base beyond the older-skewing direct-response and pharmaceutical ads that still populate its airwaves. In 2009, Fox’s biggest spender in total measured ad dollars was Procter & Gamble, which spent nearly $20 million on the network, according to Kantar Media, despite a fracas over having its ads air during the controversial “Glenn Beck” program. Other top 10 spenders include Pfizer (No. 2, $9.3 million), Johnson & Johnson (No. 5, $7.6 million) and Verizon (No. 8, $6.4 million). Fox News’ overall measured ad spending in 2009 was down 0.7% from 2008, according to Kantar, to $506.5 million. (Fox referred to figures from Kagan that put Fox’s revenues at $697 million, up 4%, and higher than CNN and HLN’s combined revenues for the first time.)

And then there’s this telling sentence…

However, three media buyers Ad Age spoke to said Fox has started to close the CPM gap with CNN despite the latter’s multiplatform pitch.

That’s huge. And it’s a nightmare scenario for CNN. CNN has been pushing multiplatform as the true indicator of its eyeball power in the wake of its primetime ratings problems and FNC’s dominance in the TV ratings overall. But the above quoted sentence, if true, would mean that media buyers aren’t buying CNN’s pitch that multiplatform is the true indicator they say it is because they’re willing to pay a higher CPM to FNC despite the network’s still (comparatively) underperforming online presence. In other words, multiplatform may not be the brass ring CNN is hoping it will be – that TV ratings are still what advertisers key off of. CNN can keep talking multiplatform but if FNC is closing the CPM gap despite its multiplatform troubles, people are going to start questioning this talking point.

Health Care Vote Coverage: Your Reactions…

Post your reactions to the cable nets’ coverage of the Health Care vote here…

Blast from the past…

Look who showed up on FNC last night. (via J$)

What’s Hot/What’s Not: Submissions…

Post your nominations for this week’s What’s Hot/What’s Not. I’ll post the finalists on Sunday night…

In Depth: “Mr. President we must not allowwww an Amanpour gap!”

While flying back from Maui the news broke that CNN’s Christiane Amanpour is jumping to ABC. I don’t think it’s understating things at all to say this is a huge blow to CNN. It also wouldn’t be understating things to say that this is the single biggest defection in CNN’s history and the biggest loss to the network ever, bigger than Bernard Shaw’s retirement.

Amanpour occupied a singular position at CNN – and arguably a singular position in TV news period. Setting aside whatever views you may hold regarding her political leanings, you’d have to agree that her stature in international news and access to world leaders was unique and unmatched by any television journalist currently operating in the medium. Her departure creates a huge void at CNN that will not be easily filled, if it indeed can be filled.

So dominant was her position at the network that CNN really doesn’t have a strong internal bench to draw from as a replacement. You can call it the “Tim Russert syndrome”. And like what happened to NBC when Russert died, you may find CNN turning to a team of people to replace the output of one.

Topping the list of potential successors would be Fareed Zakaria. This would be the logical and best choice but it is also currently the most problematic. While Zakaria does front what I consider to be the best Sunday show on TV, broadcast or cable – and does so despite having one of the worst show names in existence – Zakaria, while having a strong international background, is not really a reporter as much as he is an interviewer/analyst. And he’s not a full time CNN employee. He splits his time between Newsweek and CNN. If CNN was inclined on making Zakaria the next Amanpour they’d first have to convince him to become a full time CNNer and to work on his reporting skills. It’s a tough hill to climb, though not an impossible one.

Once you get past Zakaria though, the next group of possible candidates is fraught with drawbacks. Wolf Blitzer is not known for international affairs to the degree Zakaria is and certainly not to the degree Amanpour is. John King, who has even less of an international pedigree than Blitzer, just got locked to a desk five days a week and won’t be moved. Anderson Cooper? He may have his pet international causes but international world news is not really his forte. And, like King, he’s already tied to a desk five nights a week.

When you get right down to it, there really is no one good internal option for CNN to replace Amanpour. So you will see one of two things happen. Either CNN will split up Amanpour’s duties amongst several people to cover the ground she did or CNN will look outside and bring someone in as a long term work in progress. Such is the void that Amanpour’s departure creates and the headache CNN now faces.

Free for All: 03/19/10

I’m back but temporarily incapacitated. Too many Mai Tais I guess. Blogging won’t resume for real until late tonight or tomorrow morning. So what’s on your mind?

Free for All: 03/12/10 – 03/18/10

Behave yourselves…

Blogus Interruptus…

Off to Maui. Blogging resumes March 19th…

Echo Chamber?

This is burning up the blue blogosphere right now. Daily Kos’ Jed Lewinson recounts something that aired on Glenn Beck’s radio program today…

Glenn Beck tells his radio audience about an amazing conversation he had with a Fox News executive. The key quote:

I was in this meeting and I pulled one of the guys out, he’s a vice president of Fox. And I said, “When I first started working with you — let’s have a frank conversation here — you thought I was nuts.”

And he smiled and he said, “No, I would say I just thought you were on the cutting edge.”

And I said, “okay, alright, sure.” I said.

“Now?” he said, “Glenn, everything you’re talking about is coming. Everything you’re talking about — everything you’ve been talking about for the last year and a half. It’s all here now. And what you’re saying is coming, I don’t see any other way.”

Beck went on to say that the executive told him “we have to convince the audience that this is really truly true.”

So who’s the “top line talent” that may bolt CNN?

TVNewser drops this water cooler tidbit today in conjunction with the CNN Morning show pilot story…

But the changes may not end with a revamped morning show. TVNewser hears another top-line talent may bolt the cable channel when her contract expires. We hear she’s being wooed by one of the big 3 news divisions.

Ok the key phrase here is “top-line talent” which eliminates just about everyone for me except for three people; Kiran Chetry, Campbell Brown, and Kyra Phillips. Soledad O’Brien doesn’t have a regular show so there’s no programming disruption and Christiane Amanpour doesn’t fit the bill because her show airs primarily on CNNI and wouldn’t disrupt CNN domestic much and since the theme of the TVN post is a wholesale change to CNN, losing one show on a weekend doesn’t really equate to me, though it’s already been reported that ABC is looking at her for its Sunday “This Week” show. So it’s time for another poll question…

Press Releases: 03/11/10

MSNBC (2)

THE MSNBC DIGITAL NETWORK LAUNCHES BREAKING NEWS ON FACEBOOK

Breaking News Consumers Can Get The Latest Updates In Real-Time Right From Their Facebook Pages

NEW YORK – March 11, 2010 – The Msnbc Digital Network today announced the launch of www.facebook.com/breakingnews, a new Facebook page that delivers up-to-the-minute breaking stories from news sources across the globe. Produced around the clock by the same team that powers the popular @breakingnews account on Twitter, the new Facebook page delivers the biggest breaking news stories in real-time. By becoming fans of Breaking News, Facebook users can easily track the latest breaking events from dozens of sources, all in one place.

The Msnbc Digital Network is squarely targeting a new breed of news consumers who increasingly rely on real-time information. In January, the Msnbc Digital Network acquired the domain name www.breakingnews.com. The site now features a growing list of up-to-the-second headlines from multiple news sources, and it will continually evolve to meet hard news consumers’ expectations. In December 2009, the Msnbc Digital Network assumed responsibility for @breakingnews, which delivers the fastest, most comprehensive feed of breaking news on Twitter to more than 1.6 million followers. By adding breaking news capabilities to Facebook, the Msnbc Digital Network has expanded its integrated breaking news offerings to the largest social network on the web.

“People already use Facebook as a constant feed of news about friends, family and the world,” said Charlie Tillinghast, president of the Msnbc Digital Network. “Since breaking news both informs and sparks vibrant discussions on the web, the immediacy of our comprehensive, real-time service is a natural addition to the Facebook community.”
______________________

PROGRAM NOTE: MSNBC PRESENTS “OPERATION YELLOW RIBBON” HOSTED BY TOM BROKAW, SATURDAY 12-1 PM AND SUNDAY 1-2 PM

NEW YORK – March 11, 2010 – MSNBC will telecast “Operation Yellow Ribbon” this Saturday, 12-1 p.m. ET and Sunday, 1-2 p.m. ET, hosted by NBC News’ Tom Brokaw. Originally broadcast during NBC’s coverage of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games, “Operation Yellow Ribbon” is the story of the town of Gander, Newfoundland where, on September 11, 2001, 38 jumbo jets carrying nearly 7,000 passengers were diverted. In September 2009, Brokaw traveled to Gander with several of the grateful Americans, including the parents of a New York City firefighter who was an emergency responder at the World Trade Center; a retired Ohio State administrator who was so inspired by Canadian hospitality she helped to organize a scholarship fund for local students; and a Texas woman and British man who found true love during that fateful week in September 2001.

“Operation Yellow Ribbon” was produced by the NBC Olympics Feature & Documentary Unit headed by Vice President & Creative Director Mark Levy.

New Graphics for The Weather Channel…

Newscast Studio notes that the Weather Channel debuted some new graphics today…

Via TWC Today, The Weather Channel has debuted some small tweaks to many of its graphics. Some of the main changes include new icons on all graphics, and a new, simpler, header on maps.

TWC is currently in the process of rolling out the changes, so it’s unknown if the actual show packages and opens will change at this time.

Free for All: 03/11/10

What’s on your mind? Mine’s on Maui…

Ludacris/O’Reilly feud over?

It’s not quite as big as if Olbermann and O’Reilly buried the hatchet (What? It’s been tried already?) but it’s up there. Radar Online reports that O’Reilly and Ludacris have ended their feud. Then again Radar Online did state that Justice Roberts was looking to quit the Supreme Court…

In an exclusive interview the controversial rapper confirmed he confronted the conservative television host at a recent event and extended the hip hop hand of friendship.

“The first thing I said to him was, ‘I want to meet the guy who has had so much to say about me, but knows absolutely nothing about me’,” Ludacris told RadarOnline.com.

“I identified that I wanted to speak to him when I saw his name on the guest list. I looked at what table he was on, and I walked my a** straight to that table.

“He wasn’t expecting to see me, at all. The look on his face when he saw me approaching… priceless.”

And in the most unlikely pairing, Ludacris said the foes even teamed up for a recent charity event, which was kept secret.

CNN Developing new morning show pilot?

The Wrap’s Dylan Stableford scoops that CNN is working on a new pilot for a morning show…

CNN – which has been shuffling its weekend and evening lineups of late – is developing a new morning show pilot, with a format closer to MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” and “Fox & Friends” than anything it has done, TheWrap has learned.

A representative for CNN had no comment.

But according to one source familiar with the network’s development process, CNN is testing a concept that would include personalities with dueling political ideologies and opinions. That would be a major departure for CNN, which considers itself to be a bipartisan, journalistically-driven network unlike its rivals at Fox News and MSNBC.

A CNN insider, however, stressed that the programming and talent department are “always testing new talent” and formats, and that the pilot in question is not similar to “Morning Joe.”

Mike Straka jumps to HDNet…

TVNewser scoops that Mike Straka, VP of Fox News Digital, has left the network for HDNet. Do note the parting shot aimed at Straka by the ubiquitous anonymous source…though I’m not 100% sure whether it was justified or not.

Press Releases: 03/10/10

CNBC (1)

CNBC TO BROADCAST A SPECIAL REPORT “DEBT THREAT: STATES OF PAIN” ON THURSDAY, MARCH 11TH

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J., MARCH 10, 2010— Our nation’s states and cities are at a critical juncture and their collective credit crunch may be the biggest blind spot on the road to national economic recovery. On Thursday, March 11th, CNBC, First in Business Worldwide, will broadcast a series of special report s entitled “Debt Threat: States of Pain,” exposing the severe fiscal crisis at the state, town and city level and what it means to you. Could short-sighted decisions by ill-informed state and local government officials literally undermine America’s competitiveness setting up a bleak future for our children in an increasingly global economy?

Social Networking Threatens CNN?

The Hollywood Reporter’s Georg Szalai writes about CNN worrying about Social Networking site competition…

CNN is more concerned about competition from social networks than other cable news networks, CNN U.S. president Jonathan Klein said here Wednesday.

“The competition I’m really afraid of are social networking sites,” he said in a keynote interview at Bloomberg BusinessWeek’s Media Summit New York. They provide “an alternative that threatens to pull people away from us.”

After all, Facebook friends and Twitter members are “trusted news sources,” Klein explained. “That’s a challenge, and we got to rise to that challenge.”

CNN is looking to be a key place people link to online as a result, he said in explaining one strategy to deal with that challenge.

Sad but true…

I’d laugh if this wasn’t so accurate…

Free for All: 03/10/10

What’s on your mind?

Candy Crowley Interview…

New York Mag Daily Intelligencer’s Chris Rovzar interviews CNN’s Candy Crowley…

So, what are your goals with the new show? What do you hope to do?

I don’t think the core of the Sunday genre changes. I think you want to have people on to either explain last week, or to look into next week. Still, one of the things that [CNN president] Jon Klein told me when I got the job was, “I don’t want Candy Crowley to do John King’s show. I want Candy Crowley to do Candy Crowley’s show.” And I wish that I could delineate for you what that is. For instance — and this is a small thing — last week we got a smaller table. And it made for a more intimate discussion, which I liked. I have topics that I’ve written out that I think would be nice to cover, but I don’t have specific questions, because I like to listen to the answers and just see where it’s going.

More FNC internet video crackdowns…

Back in November, I noted the Gawker story that FNC had issued a bunch of YouTube takedown notices. Well that practice is still going on and nobody is safe…not even FNC analysts…

Take Judge Andrew Napolitano. March 3rd he tweeted the following…

I uploaded a YouTube video — Is America Going Bankrupt? http://youtu.be/cLI5sxS-a0w?a

That went up six days ago. But if you click on the link you see that FNC has already intervened with YouTube…

As J$ noted to me in an email, just about all of Judge Nap’s FNC videos have been taken down. To add a further element to this story if you go to http://www.youtube.com/JUDGENAPOLITANO you get redirected to the FNC YouTube channel.

J$ also has a link up to this Right Scoop post that claims FNC is blocking the site from embedding FNC video.

I was trying to post clips made available from Fox News earlier today since it’s obvious they don’t want me recording and uploading their content to youtube. I decided to oblige them and just use their material.

But the clips wouldn’t post. I investigated and found they are blocking me in their code from video.foxnews.com!

If true, and I’m not sure it is because there could be legitimate explanations why Right Scoop’s embeded video isn’t working (WordPress.com, which ICN is on won’t allow embedding of FNC, CNN, or MSNBC video for example though I don’t think Right Scoop is using WordPress.com as a host), that means that not only is FNC issuing a flurry of takedown notices on YouTube to everyone including its own people but it’s blocking at least one site from using its own embed code.

Free for All: 03/09/10

What’s on your mind?

Internatioal Desk makeover…

CNN Observations notes that CNNI’s International Desk got a makeover…

Looking at FNC’s News Operation…

CJR Daily’s Terry McDermott writes about FNC’s news operation…

The perceived problem is not that Fox’s straight news is relatively bias-free and its opinion programming overwhelmingly conservative. The problem is that the news portion is very small and the opinion portion very large. It would indeed be like a traditional newspaper opinion-news division if the ratios were reversed.

Fox has a reporting and editing staff about one-third the size of CNN’s. Fox has many fewer bureaus, both domestic and international (again, about one-third CNN’s total). From personal experience covering news around the world, you almost always run into a CNN crew or stringer. You almost never run into a Fox reporter, and never one from MSNBC.

In essence, MSNBC has no news operation whatsoever. It has about half the total staff that Fox employs, roughly one-sixth that of CNN, but none of these people are reporters. It is almost purely a talk network. It regularly runs even less news content than Fox. In primetime, it runs none at all. At 7 p.m., when Fox and CNN are running hour-long newscasts, MSNBC airs a re-run of Chris Matthews’s interview show, Hardball. Even when it puts news on the air, the content is almost entirely drawn from its corporate big brother, NBC, and NBC’s news operation pales compared to that of CNN. From a business standpoint, MSNBC is useful as a means to amortize the costs of NBC’s newsgathering. This can produce genuinely awkward moments—as it did frequently during the 2008 election campaign, when NBC’s relatively straight news staff joined its more opinionated studio hosts in covering election results.

The Hazards of Live TV: #25,051

Well it sort of sounded like “bad cop“…